The present invention relates to a device for axially displacing cigarettes.
In particular, the present invention relates to a device designed to axially displace cigarettes arranged side by side in two substantially parallel rows traveling on a conveyor perpendicular relative to the cigarette axes.
The present invention may be used to adjust the distance between two rows of cigarettes, e.g. for inserting a double filter between two coaxial cigarettes in the said rows. It was previously known that axial displacement of cigarettes in two parallel rows could be achieved using, for each said row, an input and an output conveying member separated transversely by a given distance with both members designed to feed the cigarettes to the respective row perpendicular relative to the cigarette axes; and with a spacer device located between the two conveyors.
The said spacer device usually comprises a pair of opposed taper rollers tangent to each other and respectively tangent, along a generating line, to the said input and output conveying members.
Though of fairly straightforward design, the above solution usually involves four taper rollers, each with respective suction seats, which, in addition to being relatively cumbersome, are also complicated to manufacture.